Waiting
by Shimmerleaf
Summary: Mary persuades Gray to stay inside the library while a blizzard rages outside. There's nothing for him to do except wait...and watch her. Secret Santa gift!


**A/N: Merry Christmas, The Scarlet Sky! This is your Secret Santa present from me~! Since you didn't exactly make a wishlist and I (only) knew you really like Mary, this is what I came up with. I hope none of the characters are _too _OOC and that you at least like it. **

Footsteps echoed in the empty library along with the creaking of the stairs as a person walked down to the bottom floor. The librarian looked up from her book and smiled wearily. The person nodded and went to the back of the library, looking for another book to read.

She watched him for a moment before resting her head on the surface of her desk. A splitting headache rampaged through her head and her throat felt odd, as if there was a lump that refused to be swallowed or coughed back up.

It was quite obvious that she was sick but she hadn't wanted to close the library even though not many people visited. Her parents had decided to take a last minute trip to Sunny Island to celebrate their anniversary. They weren't concerned about her as they knew she was capable to taking care of herself although her mother did worry that she was going to stay in the library all day.

Yesterday she had taken a walk after closing the library and had climbed up Mother's Hill. Snow had just begun to fall once more when a chilling winter breeze swept passed her, unravelling her scarf and carrying it away. She only had a thin coat on as she hadn't expected to be out for that long. Of couse that was when she caught her cold.

A tickling sensation ran up her throat and she coughed rather violently. Opening her mouth, she breathed in and out deeply before closing her eyes.

Snow continued to fall outside with more ferocity, covering every inch of Mineral Town with white crystals. Storm clouds rolled in from the horizon and settled above the town, showering them with harsher flakes of snow. A blizzard had begun.

xxx

"Mary, you okay?" A hand shook her shoulder and she looked up groggily to see Gray standing in front of her desk.

"I'm fine, Gray," Mary answered, her voice sounding somewhat raspy. She got up and stood, looking outside the window.

Soon it would be time to close the library but... While Gray was reading and Mary had fallen asleep, a blizzard had begun outside. Snow no longer fell gracefully down but came in groups, attacking the buildings. A strong winter breeze pulled at the bare trees, threatening to snap their branches. The howling of the wind could be heard inside the library, through the windows.

"I don't think you should try to go home in this weather, Gray. You might get sick; it'll be better to wait until it's over," Mary suggested with a sniffle.

Gray nodded and looked at her before walking back to where he was sitting to continue reading his book. He wouldn't have cared if he had to walk back to the inn in that weather, although he would be grumbling the whole way, he was glad Mary had offered to let him stay. He quite liked the library, as it provided a quiet place for him to release the stress that accumulated in him during the day.

xxx

A few hours had passed and the blizzard showed no sign of letting up or calming down. Gray flipped through yet another book before putting it down on the table. Mary had dimmed the lights of the library an hour ago and now the room was semi bathed in darkness. His eyes had to strain to read the books properly so he had just given up.

Glancing over at Mary's desk, he saw that she had fallen asleep on top of her novel again. He could see part of her chest rising and falling with each breath. At times a moan would make its way pass her lips, followed by a cough.

It was quite obvious that she was sick, he didn't get why she hadn't closed the library and taken the day off to rest comfortably at home. Not many people came to the library; Doctor and Claire were the only regulars besides himself. He knew for certain that Doctor was busy with the clinic as many people were starting to catch colds and Claire only came on weekdays.

Gray wondered if he should wake Mary up, although he didn't see the point. She was sick and needed her rest but the position she was in didn't seem very comfortable. He got up from his seat and wandered restlessly around the library. There was no way he would be able to fall asleep although he needed it, he still had to go to work the next day...or later today, depending on the time.

"...The storm doesn't seem to show any sign of stopping soon. Why don't you take go to sleep for a while, Gray?"

He turned around, surprised, to see Mary. She had woken up and walked up to him, all without him noticing. "Shouldn't you be the one resting? Why didn't you close the library today?"

"Why would I do that?" she replied before going into a coughing fit.

"You're sick," he stated simply.

"It's just a cold, I'll be fine." Mary gave him a tired smile. "I rather be at the library than at home where I'd be alone. It's nicer to be here."

"Hardly anyone comes here," Gray reasoned.

"Except for you," she answered, "Doctor and Claire likes to visit too."

Gray looked away, having not expected her to say something like that. He didn't have a reply to that, what could he say? "Do you know what time it is?" he asked as an attempt to change the topic. The blizzard still raged outside and no light shone through the storm clouds. Without natural light, it was hard to estimate the time.

"It should be around eleven PM, are you in a rush to get home?"

He shook his head, "I was just wondering."

Gray sat back down in his chair and Mary sat from across him. Sounds of the blizzard outside echoed against the windows and filled the awkward silence. He stared at the bookshelf behind her while she watched the flurries of snow falling outside.

They sat there for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Now that Gray thought about it, it was weird how he was stuck in the library with Mary. He didn't mind of course, out of all the people in Mineral Town, he found Mary to be the easiest person to talk to.

"Do you know tonight is the Starry Night Festival?" Mary asked softly, her eyes still watching the multitude of snowflakes.

"I know, but it doesn't seem like it," he replied with a shrug. He got up and walked over to another bookshelf, flipping through the variety of books. He was getting bored and there really was no point for him to be in the library when he couldn't read books. Even though some of the lights were still on, it made reading very hard on the eyes. There wasn't much to do with the books as skimming through them provided no entertainment. He took a book of fairytales and went back to his seat. Maybe the pictures could amuse him for a while.

As he looked through the book, he noticed that Mary had fallen asleep again. She looked somewhat peaceful when compared to her expression before although once in a while she would cough. Eventually even he fell asleep, the book lying on the table next to his head.

xxx

Soft laughter rang through his ears and he opened his eyes to see pitch black. Raising his head, he looked around to see bookshelves surrounding him. He then remembered that he was still in the library because of the blizzard.

"Are you awake now, Gray?"

He looked around and saw a faint outline of a person. "Yes, I'm awake. Why did you turn the lights off completely, Mary?"

She smiled in the dark and turned to face the windows. "The blizzard stopped while we were asleep."

Gray walked toward her and looked out the windows to see that the blizzard had stopped. Everything was covered in layers and layers of snow. The sky was still dark (which made sense as it was still night) although it now seemed like a lighter shade of dark. There were no sign of anymore storm clouds and the moon shone brightly. Many stars sparkled high up in sky.

"I should go now since the blizzard is over," Gray stated.

"Why don't you stay for a while longer?" Mary insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come upstairs with me."

She began walking towards the stairs and he followed her. Once they were upstairs, she walked towards the windows facing outside. Gray stood next to her and looked outside.

"Would you like to spend the remaining thirty minutes before the Starry Night Festival is over with me? Mary asked timidly.

Gray looked at her and saw her smile in the moonlight that streamed down from the sky and through the window. He gave a slight nod and saw her smile widen.

Mary seemed to have gotten over her cold as she stood there next to Gray, watching the twinkling stars. Her headache had disappeared long ago and her throat no longer felt odd. Maybe all she needed was someone to spend time with...

"Happy Starry Night..."

**A/N: I hope that was enjoyable and that you liked it, Scarlet. I've only played MFoMT years ago so the details are a bit sketchy to me so I hope nothing is too out of place. **

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone ^^**


End file.
